Jepsen, Shields make progress

Scot Shields and Kevin Jepsen, two valuable members of the Angels’ bullpen, stretched it out on Thursday in the warm sun of Tempe Diablo Stadium and came out of the session feeling ready for the next step toward the mound.

“Shiedsy and l got back for 10 minutes of long toss, and it felt great — for both of us,” Jepsen said. “I’m happy. The best part is I felt good after I’d stopped throwing for a while and went back out. No issues at all. This was a very good day.”

Shields, rebounding from left knee surgery, and Jepsen, who experienced some shoulder pain early in camp, have been delayed in throwing off the mound.

“I feel like I could throw right now,” Shields said, “but I understand them being cautious with me. You’ve got to look at the big picture.”

It was the first day of live batting practice, and starters Ervin Santana, Joel Pineiro and Joe Saunders all threw effectively.

“I was focused on fastball command,” Saunders said, “and it really felt good to be out there. The second pitch I threw was a line drive right back at me, but I got out of the way.”

First baseman Kendry Morales remained absent as he goes through the final stages of acquiring his work permit. The Cuba native established residency in the Dominican Republic after defecting in 2004. He is expected in camp any day.

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4 Comments

Great news. As Sparky Anderson said, the secret to a good life is good friends and a solid bullpen; not necessarily in that order. I’m trying not to get too excited about the upcoming season, but the little hairs on my forearms are standing up right now.

Did they forget to put February on Morales’ calendar? I’m always amazed by delays like this and do NOT blame external forces. Not applying in time is on Morales. How could getting to spring training be a surprise?

I am not sure how this season will end up and so I am holding back on commenting about any of what has happened until I see the whole picture. I would like to believe we can repeat what we did last year, but I am not putting the cart before the horse just yet!

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